Here's one way to beat the Patriots and send them back to New England in a bewildered state -- score the winning touchdown on a 69-yard play featuring two laterals and no time remaining.
The Miami Miracle was arguably the most unlikely and spectacular of finishes for any game in 2018. With the Patriots just seven seconds away from becoming division champions for the 10th straight year, Dolphins running back Kenyan Drake ran the final 54-yard leg of the amazing play to lift Miami to a 34-33 victory.
The play started when Ryan Tannehill gunned a 14-yard pass to Kenny Stills before the receiver pitched it to DeVante Parker before a lateral to Drake. The speedy running back then weaved his way through the rest of the backpedaling Patriots defense and blew past a stumbling Rob Gronkowski with about 15 yards to go to score.
"The play kind of got messed up," quarterback Ryan Tannehill said. "I saw Kenyan there, I said [to Parker] "pitch it! pitch it! He pitches it, Kenyan came back inside. ... Then I saw him and [Rob Gronkowski] about 10 yards away. I said, 'Gronk's on the field? We got this!' So, yeah, it was pretty amazing. I was following behind and I actually just turned around and collapsed just with the emotion of the whole thing."
Dolphins coach Adam Gase told reporters the play was executed as it was drawn up.
"We work on them every Friday and Saturday," Gase said. "And it's boring because you might go three years without calling them. Those guys stuck with them, especially this year. And they executed that one for sure.
"I've seen a couple of these. I've been on the other side of the ball, but as a head coach, this is the first time, for sure."
Still, why did it happen?
It makes sense the Dolphins wouldn't try to attempt a Hail Mary -- Tannehill missed five games earlier this season because of a shoulder injury. But why was Gronkowski on the field with the defense for the final play? He didn't have the tackling angle on Drake and he was no match for Drake's speed, especially after he stumbled in an attempt to catch him.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick opted to have Gronkowski on the field to help combat a mid-range pass.
"Well, they could throw it deeper," Belichick said when asked why he had Gronk playing defense. "They could have run the Desperado-type play, which is kind of an in between 20-yard pass, then it turned into a Desperado."
"Drake runs a 4.3 [40-yard dash] and Gronk probably runs a 4.6 or 4.7," Tannehill said. "We feel good about that matchup."
